Quick Links

Tapered Latnination on a form and glued together. The resulting curved laminate is much stronger than a piece sawn from solid stock would be, and much less wasteful of material . It is also stronger than a steam-bent piece, because the glue adds to the strength of the wood. Lamination has the additional advantage of stretching rare or highly figured boards, since the best stock can be resawn and used to face all the legs of a chair or table. I discussed the basics of simple bent lamination, the neces- T sary forms and the gluing techniques in the Spring '77 issue of Fine Woodworking (pp. 35-38). This article will cover layers of wood that are not of uniform thickness-tapered laminations and double tapered laminations. These techniques permit you to make a curved piece whose width and thickness vary, whereas a simple bent lamination can vary only in width. If the design requires cutting through the thickness of a layer of wood at any ·point along a curve, the whole part is weakened. The severed layers no longer contribute to the strength of the assembly. The problem is avoided by tapering the layers of wood, so the variation in thickness is built right into the lamination. It is important to make each layer of wood as thick as possible although still thin enough to follow the desired curve. It is much better to resaw stock to optimum thickness than to use many layers of thin veneer. I know that my methods are liable to appear fussy or confusing to people who are accustomed to bandsawing curves from heavy, solid stock, but they will appeal to assemblers and people who enjoy complicated joinery. I prefer to spend time on the planning and drawing, instead of on carving huge amounts of waste from unformed heavy stock. Once a curve has been laminated, it is hard to alter the outward shape. It is simple to revise the shape of a bandsawn part. Because accurate pr�visualization comes with experience, I don't 1 A simple bent lamination ... Slender curves have necessary bulk for joinery by Jere Osgood hin layers of wood are easy to bend. Several thin layers, all with the grain running in the same direction, can be bent find being locked in a disadvantage. When I teach, I mention many times the absolute necessity of making full-size shop drawings. Many part-time woodworkers don't do this, but it is the key to seeing the shape of the finished, three-dimensional object. And it is the only way to be sure from the start that the joinery is possible. This method of working has also been criticized as less than true to the material. Obviously I don't agree, and I don't think the things I make are any less woodlike than more traditional construction. If anything, a simple chest with curved sides and a bow front (obtainable by the compound staved lamination system, the subject of a future article) is much more like a curving tree than is a chest with flat board sides, carved to represent folded linen. Although I make contemporary furniture, I should add that this method has nothing to do with style or design. Tapered laminates can make a traditionally curved leg, and compound staved laminates could be put to good use in producing a French bombe chest. Tapered lamination Once you have made a shop drawing-for example of a table-and decided that a tapered lamination would make the strongest leg, you need to figure the measurements of the thickness-planer jig that will produce the necessary laminates. From the shop drawing, you need to know the thickness of the curved leg at both ends, and the length of the curve if it were straightened out. To find the length, draw a center line on the curved part. Set a pair of dividers at an inch or less and walk the dividers down the center line. To decide the number and thickness of the layers of wood, look first at the small end of the leg. Suppose it is 1 in. thick-eight layers, each � in. thick, would be Jere Osgood teaches woodworking and furniture design at Boston University 's Program in Artisanry. 3 but if it also tapers in thickness, it becomes weak and ugly glue lines surface ... , 2 can be sawn or carved so it .... .... tapers in width ... 4 The solution is to taper each _______ 48 )